Sleeve and roll assembly



y 9, 1957 D. R. CURTIS 3,318,233

SLEEVE AND ROLL ASSEMBLY Original Filed June 1, 1964 United States Patent 3,318,233 SLEEVE AND ROLL ASSEMBLY Donald R. Curtis, Appleton, Wis., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee, Wis. Continuation of application Ser. No. 371,532, June 1, 1964. This application July 8, 1966, Ser. No. 563,922 4 Claims. (Cl. 100-121) This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 371,532 filed June 1, 1964.

This invention relates to the art of making paper and in particular to a portion of paper making apparatus called a press assembly. The function of the press assembly is to dewater a wet paper web that has been formed by a Fourdrinier, cylinder or other paper forming units.

Press assemblies according to popular prior art techniques usually provide an endless flat band for supporting the wet web and carrying it between a plain smooth surface roll and a suction roll. The suction roll is provided with a perforated revolving shell having a localized suction area within the roll. As the supporting felt carries the wet web between the rolls the web is squeezed by the rolls and subjected to suction through the perforations of the suction roll. -Water squeezed and drawn from the web is sucked intothe perforations in the suction roll with some water being drawn inwardly through the shell while some water is merely held in the perforations until the shell revolves beyond the suction area. Beyond the suction area water in the perforations is thrown outwardly by centrifugal force and caught in a drain pan assembly called a save-all. Several such dewatering stages are usually provided before the web is delivered to dryers.

A vacuum pump and such connections as are necessary to draw the suction for the perforated roll obviously represents an initial capital investment and a continuous operating cost. The perforated roll likewise is an expensive piece of equipment that while it does have a reasonably long useful life, it does have to be replaced from time to time and therefore results in a substantial reoccurring cost. It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a dewatering system that eliminates or at least substantially reduces one or both of the aforesaid costs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive roll with an inexpensive, easily fitted, absorbent sleeve for such uses as may be exemplified by arranging such a jacketed roll with a plain roll to provide a web dewatering assembly without the need to provide a suction area within the jacketed roll.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive adsorbent sleeve that may be easily shrunk about and secured to a cylindrical roll.

These and other objects of the present invention and how they are attained will appear from the following description of the invention with reference to the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is diagrammatical view of a press assembly according to this invention including a dewatering roll below a web and cooperating top roll, and an adsorbent sleeve fitted jacketing the dewatering roll;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a dewatering roll as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of one end portion of a roll and sleeve according to this invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatical view of an alternative ar- 3,318,233 Patented May 9, 1967 rangement of a press assembly according to this invention in which the jacketed dewatering roll is above a web; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of an alternative end construction of a roll and sleeve according to this invention.

In FIG. 1 the reference numeral 10 designates an adsorbent carrier band such as a felt looped around guide rolls '11 and under a tensioning roll 12. The upper run of the felt 10 conveys a Web W through the nip of a press roll assembly comprising a dewatering roll 13 and a top roll 14 cooperating with the roll 13. The Web W is preferably raised off of the felt 10 and directed over lifting rolls 15 before and after the web and felt pass through the nip of the press roll assembly.

The dewatering roll 13 may be a built-up structure in which a shaft 16 carries a pair of axially spaced heads 17 and a shell 18 that is secured to the outer periphery of the heads 17.

A sleeve 19, woven of snythetic fibers or blends of synthetic and natural fibers (which will be described later) is shrunk tightly around the shell '18 to provide a jacket for the roll. End portions of the sleeve 19 are secured in a manner that will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, an annular clamp 20 is provided with a cylindrical lip 21 that engages the outwardly facing surface of head 17. A ring 22 is arranged between head 17 and clamp 20, radially outward of lip 21. The end portion of sleeve 19 is arranged both between head 17 and ring 22, and also between ring 22 and clamp 20. Head 17 is bored at a number of locations and the bores 23 are threaded to receive bolts 24. Turning bolts 24 into the threaded bores causes the outer periphery of clamp 20 to bend toward head 17 and securely grip the end portion of the sleeve 19.

In the alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 5, an annular clamp 20a is provided without the lip 21 shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 5, bolts such as 24a pass. through a folded portion of sleeve 19a and into bores 23:: in a head 17a.

In making sleeve 19 according to this invention, a Wide variety of synthetic thermoplastic fibers, filaments or blends of natural and synthetic fibers or filaments may be employed in the process as long as the synthetic fibers are capable of being shrunk and taking and retaining a set at a temperature above that ordinarily encountered in pressing a Web. Among the fibers having such qualities are fibers known as Dacron, nylon, dynel, Orlon and the like.

Dacron is a synthetic polyester fiber made by the condensation of dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol; dynel is a synthetic fiber made by the copolymerization of, for example, 40% acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride; nylon is a term applied to a series of fibers made of polyamide resins typically formed by the polymerization of a hexamethylenediamine salt of adipic acid; while Orlon is a synthetic fiber made principally from polyacrylonitrile.

The synthetic fibers enumerated are often supplied by the manufacturers in the form of staple fibers to resemble a natural wool fiber. Such fibers may be straight length fibers or crimped, curled or spiraled to more nearly approximate the natural wool fibers they replace and the fibers can be lustrous, dull or semidull in appearance.

Also Dacron, nylon, Orlon and certain other thermoplastic synthetic materials are supplied as monofilament fibers or in multiple filament yarn form. These materials may be employed in making sleeve 19 in the supplied r 3 l form or they can be textured or bulked prior to weaving. The term fibers as used in the claims is meant to include materials in any of these forms.

While there are a large number of synthetic fibers which may be employed satisfactorily in making sleeves in accordance with the teaching of this invention, the preferredfibers are Dacron or nylon as they have been found to be the most durable. The Dacron or nylon or a combination of these fibers can be used in both the warp and the filling yarns, or one of the fibers can be used in the warp and the other in the filling or monofilamentstrands may be woven plain, i.e., over and under similar strands at 90 degrees thereto to provide an open mesh fabric like household window screening material.

Examples of suitable fibers and fabrics that have desirable durability and shrink characteristics to be used for the. sleeves 19, include Dacron woven in a plain over and under weave, with 16 strands per inch; a textured nylon and Dacron plate type felt with 3/1 weave of textured nylon filament filling yarns and textured Dacron filament warp yarns; a felt composed of 14 cut regular staple fiber Dacron yarns and six out shrinkable Dacron staple filling yarns; and a felt composed of a mixture of 75% wool with 25% nylon in the warp yarns and all shrinkable Dacron in the filling yarns.

Following the conventional steps of carding, spinning, weaving and splicing, if not woven endless, a sleeve 19 of oversize dimensions of about up to 5% is slipped over shell 18 and shrunk tightly thereto. This may be accomplished by rotating roll 13 partly submerged in a pan of water to which steam and/or flame is applied to elevate the temperature to, for example, about 200 F. and continuing until the sleeve fits tightly around shell 18. This shrinking may also take place in hot air or steam. Portions of sleeve 19 overhanging shell 18 may be folded radically inward and ring 22 abated thereto in axial alignmen-t. The end portion of sleeve 19 may then be drawn through ring 22 and radially outward between ring 22 and clamp 20. Bolts 24, can then be turned tightly into bores 23 to secure the end portions of sleeve 19 to the roll assembly 13.

The roll assembly 13 therefore is provided with a relatively inexpensive and easily replaceable surface full of small mesh or minute capillary pores and is adapted to uses exemplified by FIG. 1 wherein the pores adsorb water pressed from the web W as it passes through the nip of the assembly shown in FIG. 1. The water entering the pores of sleeve 19 is conveyed through the nip of the assembly and away from the Web W and felt as the roll 13 rotates. The rotation of the roll 13 effects a centrifugal discharge of some of the water in the pores of the sleeve 19, as shown at 30, to be caught in pan 29. Pan 29 is provided with a wallof maximum height on the down turning side of roll 13 in order to trap a maximum amount of water thrown from roll 13.

An air blast pipe 31 is positioned adjacent the sleeve 19 for blasting a jet of air 32 against the sleeve to remove anywater that has not been thrown off by centrifugal force. Theblast 32 impinges upon the sleeve 19 at a point spaced downwardly from the nip of the assembly so that the water does not contact the felt or web.

A suction box 33 may also be provided to communicate through seals 34 with the outer face of the sleeve 19 to draw out water from the pores of the shell. The suction box 33 may be evacuated and drained through an'opening 35 in the end thereof.

The pores ofthe sleeve 19 thus have the water therein removed therefrom at points away from the nip area of the assembly so that as the sleeve 19 rotates into the nip area the pores thereof are in a dried and cleaned condition.

The cooperating top roll 14 is adjustable as shown in dotted lines at 14 relative to the roll 13 for varying the nip position of the assembly.

From the above description of FIG. 1 it should be understood that a wet web W is received on an adsorbent carrier band such as a felt and directed through a vertical two-press roll assembly including a press roll having a porous water-adsorbent surface capable of receiving therein water expressed from the web. This water enters the pores of the adsorbent surfaced roll and is conveyed in these pores through the nip of the assembly thereby preventing an accumulation of water back of the nip that would tend to crush the web. As the adsorbent surfaced roll rotates away from the nip, par-t of the water in the pores thereof is discharged by centrifugal force and remaining portions of the water are cleaned from the pores by devices 31, 33 cooperating with the outer face of the roll.

In the alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 4, a plain roll 14a is beneath a carrier band 10a and a dewatering roll 13a, as has been described, is above the web W. A pan 29a and air blast pipe 31a are provided in this arrangement for the same purposes pan 29 and pipe 31 are provided in the arrangement of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, pan 29a is provided with upwardly inclined lips 40, 41 which define collecting troughs drained by parts 42, 43.

Thus it has been shown that the present invention provides a unique sleeve and roll assembly 13 having an inexpensive, easily applied and replaced jacket that may be advantageously applied to many uses and with particular advantage to paper press assemblies. Fibers that shrink when heated provide the desired shrink fit sleeve and the adsorbing character of the fabric provides the desired dewatering action of the press roll. The described sleeves can be used to make a dewatering roll by jaeketing a plain imperforate roll or can jacket a perforated roll to increase its dewatering capacity and protect the more expensive perforated roll from wear. The present invention therefore accomplishes the objects stated therefor and others that will occur to those skilled in such arts.

Modifications and equivalents of the disclosed features of this invention, such as readily occur to those skilled in these arts, are intended to be included within the scope of this invention. The scope of this invention is therefore intended to be limited only by the scope of the claims such as are, or may hereafter be, appended hereto.

The embodiments of the invention for which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A roll assembly comprising a cylindrical roll and a fabric sleeve shrunken tightly around the periphery and between the ends of said roll, said sleeve comprising shrinkable synthetic fibers interwoven in a mesh fabric defining pores adapted to adsorb liquid thereon, and means for securing to the roll portions of said sleeve overhanging the roll, said means comprising an annular ring coaxial with said roll for engaging an intermediate por-.

means for securing to the roll portions of said sleeve over-- hanging the roll, said means comprising an annular ring coaxial with said roll for engaging an intermediate portion of said overhanging sleeve and an outer annular clamp connected through said ring to said roll for pressing the end of said overhanging portion against said ring to secure said overhanging portion between said roll and said ring and between said ring and said outer clamp.

3. A press roll assembly comprising a pair of rolls with one roll over the other to define a nip for the passage of a web traveling in a substantially horizontal path, one of said rolls being an assembly according to claim 1 with said mesh defining in said fabric a plurality of pores adapted to receive therein water squeezed from a web passing through said nip, and means for catching and collecting water thrown from said pores by centrifugal force, said means comprising a tray disposed about said jacketed roll and having a wall of said tray on the outrunning side of said nip terminating at a horizontal level in close proximity to the horizontal level of the nip.

4. In a roll assembly according to claim 1 wherein said sleeve is a disposable jacket which comprises a plurality of heat shrinkable moisture impervious fibers having the same heat shrink rate and characteristics, said fibers being interwoven to provide a shrinkable porous liquid adsorbent open mesh fabric joined to define a tubular sleeve that upon being heated to a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit will shrink the peripheral and axial fibers 15 of said tubular sleeve and provide a porous liquid adsorbent open mesh tubular sleeve of shrunk peripheral and axial moisture impervious fibers.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Bowman 29119 Rugeley et al. 161176 Reed 264-230 Van Buren 1853 Smith et al. 100-174 Guglielmo et al 29119 Justus 29-121 X Peterson et a1. 29-132 X Raymond 29-120 Japan.

LOUIS O. MAASSEL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A ROLL ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL ROLL AND A FABRIC SLEEVE SHRUNKEN TIGHTLY AROUND THE PERIPHERY AND BETWEEN THE ENDS OF SAID ROLL, SAID SLEEVE COMPRISING SHRINKABLE SYNTHETIC FIBERS INTERWOVEN IN A MESH FABRIC DEFINING PORES ADAPTED TO ADSORB LIQUID THEREON, AND MEANS FOR SECURING TO THE ROLL PORTIONS OF SAID SLEEVE OVERHANGING THE ROLL, SAID MEANS COMPRISING AN ANNULAR RING COAXIAL WITH SAID ROLL FOR ENGAGING AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF SAID OVERHANGING SLEEVE AND AN OUTER ANNULAR CLAMP CONNECTED THROUGH SAID RING TO SAID ROLL FOR PRESS- 